Valerie Fowler
Artist Statement:
My artworks portray settings or scenes illustrating states of nature on earth. Through implied narratives I relay my concern and love for our fragile home as I explore the mark we humans make on it. Stories, taken from my own interactions with nature, are integral. Over time I’ve developed personal touchstones and archetypes sourced from my native Texas environment which hint at allegories. Through the unique intensity of my personal vision, I endeavor to communicate themes examining the qualities of beauty in nature, and also, our common mortality.
Bio: Valerie Fowler grew up in Houston. Her father was noted Houston sculptor, Bob Fowler (1931-2010). After graduating from U.T. (with a B.A. in Art) she made Austin her home and has been actively involved in art making and art exhibition for over 30 years. Nature is her chosen subject. Her complex and intricate oil paintings and drawings describe a natural world of extreme beauty and vigor while also conveying nature’s sensitive vulnerability. Her past work includes painting murals for Whole Foods Market in Austin, Chicago and Ann Arbor, illustration and layout work for The Texas Observer, illustrations for CD jackets for local musicians, including a fully illustrated, 64 page book that accompanies the CD for “Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase”, a musical project written, recorded and produced by her husband Brian Beattie. The “Ivy” project toured the East and West coasts and she and Beattie produced the full stage production for Austin’s Stateside at the Paramount Theater in 2014. In 2016, Fowler held Nature and Other Stories at Austin’s Dougherty Arts Center, a solo exhibit and mid-career retrospective, with artworks spanning 2 decades. Fowler teaches art in her home studio and is also an art instructor at The Contemporary, The Art School at Laguna Gloria. An active participant in the EAST and WEST Austin Studio Tours and a perennial participant in The People’s Gallery at Austin City Hall, Fowler has exhibited widely in Austin and throughout Texas and is collected nationally. Most recently, Fowler was chosen by the Texas Book Festival as their 2018 Festival artist. Her painting: Spring, Everything Changes; Fredericksburg, Texas graced the festival poster and corresponding campaign materials. And, in 2018 she contracted with Pomegranate Communications licensing her artwork images for a 2020 calendar, puzzle and art cards. Both she and her husband maintain studios adjacent to their South Austin home. She paints, draws or gardens daily.
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